Yesterday morning, Jazz wouldn't quit throwing up, even water. Then her second BM looked bad. Hubby came home from work because I was a wreck (about many things, but I was REALLY worried about Jazz). I got her an appointment and they first tested for parvo but were thinking it wasn't that because she looked so good generally. But the parvo test came back positive in WAY less than the 15 minutes they said the test took.

I FREAKED as you can imagine.

I also couldn't afford the $500-700 to leave her there for 5-7 days for it to run it's course....not to mention, there's only a 50-50 chance even then of it working.

I freaked some more.

I had NO money on me, we have no credit cards. With the promise to pay Friday, they sent us home with antibiotic, a shot for nausea, and told us to get her some pedialyte. On Friday, we can pick up the IV stuff if we want.

When we got home, we gave her the pedialyte and she kept it down the first two times. She went out and pee'd and poo'd. But she was quiet, lying on the endtable all evening.

I went to bed exhausted (having been up since 2:30am, most of that time bawling) with my daughter knowing to give her pedialyte another time before bed and to put pedialyte in her attachable bowls.

Well, I just got up a few minutes ago. I took Jazz out. She walked around a little but lain in the grass so I brought her in...a little too early, she started running around like she does right before she poos. Still no blood, good. She wouldn't eat or drink so I gave her the pedialyte from the syringe. She gave me kisses and is now playing with one of her toys, quite actively, at my feet.

Please let us have caught this early enough that we can stay ahead of the virus and keep her alive. I love this little dog so much already. And she's a GOOD dog. She potties outside, follows us readily, plays nicely, everything. We all love her so much already. She's so cute and sweet.

I've lost 2 dogs to parvo in the past (not in this house). Please let me keep this one!

I just need some support as we go through another tough day with her. I can't stop crying STILL. But it is so nice to see her playing.

Oh my! She just ran and ATE a few pieces of kibble! Please let her keep them down. SHe only ate 2 or 3, but anything is better than nothing!

It sounds like she's doing pretty good. Keep giving her the pedialyte with the syringe if she doesn't want to drink. I am trying to remember, but I think that parvo lives in the soil f-o-r-e-v-e-r. You might want to google that and check it out and have your yard treated if thats the case.

Yeah, I was really surprised we're dealing with this as I thought it lived in the soil only a year or two. Vet said 7! We've only lived here 3 years so who knows what happened before then.

I also wondered if coyotes and such could carry it.

We will not be getting another puppy for sure. I won't take the chance of getting an animal that hasn't been fully vaccinated.

But Jazz does sound like she's doing better than many. She ate some more kibble and drank some water (or pedialyte--whichever someone put in her regular bowls). She's kept it down. SHe played A LOT, even got in trouble a bit, this morning. She's now sleeping at my feet.

I want to be hopeful....

I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO appreciate your post. It's so hard to go through this. I need the support and hugs!

Hi Pamela,
It sounds like your puppy will do OK. The parvo pups that don't make it are either the ones who are very young and develop a cardiomyopathy from the virus and drop dead or the older pups that have diarrhea and vomiting for many days before they are even brought in and dehydration kills their kidneys.
Keep her hydrated and eating small, frequent amounts of bland food for a few days. The antibiotics will help prevent septicemia (bacteria translocating to the bloodstream from an inflammed gut) but will not treat the virus so the small intestine needs to recover over time. It could take 2 weeks before you see totally normal poop. Just FYI.
A good disinfectant for parvo is NaOH or Mr. Clean. The thing about the soil is true, parvo is very hardy and if you are in TX no chance of a good freeze, eh? Ask your vet down there what may help your yard. In Minnesota we just let winter come and take care of most of it.
Make sure your puppy gets its series of distemper parvo vax every four weeks between 6 and 16 weeks. The last parvo needs to be given after 16 weeks as we know the maternal antibodies are no longer interfering with the vaccine response and the pup will have good protection.
Soph

Soph, what about giving the puppy some Pepto-Bismol for the nausea/diarrhea?

\Pepto is safe for dogs and I reserve it for very watery diarrhea. It can take a dog from diarrhea to constipation in a hurry. Never use it more than two days in a row or more than two times per day. Puppies are a little more prone to its constipating effects so if they just have soft stool I don't usually push it. It can also turn the stool black, just FYI. If Pamela's puppy is really watery then try a half teaspoon and see what happens, but don't go too long on it. The other thing is that parvo trashes the lining of the gut so the stool won't be normal for a while, like 7-14 days for the villi and crypts in the lining to be restored to normal function of absorbing fluid. The main thing is to keep the dog hydrated through oral or parenteral fluids.Sorry, that was a long answer.

She seems like a normal puppy for the most part this morning (other than that one poo). She was the first to the door when the "big dogs" woke up and we said "outside."

I am going to call the vet this morning because there are a few questions I didn't ask yesterday that I just want to touch base on. But she's doing well. She's eaten her food but prefers the lab's food. I don't really want to argue with her. LOL She has drank a little and we're doing the pedialyte thing each hour. She kept down her medicine too (how come dog amoxillian looks and smells just like kid amoxillian? LOL).

She's playing and doing well. I'm getting more hopeful. I did wake my daughter up early today cuz I needed the emotional support. I figured y'all couldn't write 10 posts every 10 minutes to make me less worried. LOL

Thanks so much for your support though. I hope she pulls through!

Oh, and Soph, I guess I'll hope for a horrid winter with hard freezes this year. I never thought I'd say that and I hated the few winters that have been rougher, but just for good measure...

We picked up a tiny stray on our wedding night. It turned out that the little guy had parvo.
We did go through a vet, but he made it. Within a week, he was out chasing bugs and eating everything in sight.

14 years later, he's still chasing bugs and eating everything in sight. I hope your little puppy does the same.

Soph, do you have any idea how valuable your input is on this board?? I so appreciate you and all the other professionals who share their knowledge so openly to the rest of us.

Pamela, my heart sank when I read your subject line. Two years ago we purchased a puppy who came to us sick with parvo. We lost him within a week This led to a big two month drama with the breeder (which turned out to be a puppy mill ) over vet bills which you really don't want to know.

My puppy wouldn't play, he wouldn't eat or drink all he did was lay around. I think having a playful puppy is a good sign. I sincerely hope he does recover, he is such a cute little guy and I can see you are all very attached to him.

The things I learn on this board! I didn't know dogs could survive parvo. Huh! Who knew.

And Pamela, has she not had her shots yet? Or did she contract it because she hasn't had ALL her shots yet because she is still young?

Oh, and I hope you have a better day. A sick dog is no fun. One time my Brittany got sick after her yearly shots and I was so worried about her that I called the vet close to midnight. He wasn't nice to me. He was pretty rude and basically just said he didn't know what was wrong with her since he wasn't looking at her at that moment and I should go to the ALL NIGHT Clinic. Well, excuse me mister vet, I will not bother you any more.

So I found another vet. ( To his credit he did call to check on her the next day, but his rudeness when I was upset just did me in.)

Did I just thread jack this thread? I'm sorry. Please no one neg rep me.

Scarlett, She was given her first set of puppy shots when she turned 8 weeks old. SHe's now 10.5 weeks. Our vet was going to give her her second set of shots last Friday but we had to push back the appointment. OF course, with a 5-7 day period, she was already exposed by Friday, but of course, I've beat myself up about it a bit.

Anyway, here is a picture of her a few minutes ago trying to decide whether to pay attention to the camera or "eat" the trashmen. LOL Doesn't she look happy?!?!? (ETA: she's wet from the dew on the grass, not any mess she made)

Scarlett, She was given her first set of puppy shots when she turned 8 weeks old. SHe's now 10.5 weeks. Our vet was going to give her her second set of shots last Friday but we had to push back the appointment. OF course, with a 5-7 day period, she was already exposed by Friday, but of course, I've beat myself up about it a bit.

Anyway, here is a picture of her a few minutes ago trying to decide whether to pay attention to the camera or "eat" the trashmen. LOL Doesn't she look happy?!?!? (ETA: she's wet from the dew on the grass, not any mess she made)

Looks like she is going to be fine. We got two puppies from the pound last year, and one of them ended up with that nasty stuff. We took him to the vet, and they did everything they could, but he still didn't make it. :-( His brother tested negative for it the day we took them in, but then a couple days later, he got sick too. We took him, and sure enough, he had it. They were planning on keeping him a couple nights, but they called the next morning and said he was going so crazy wanting out of that cage, and had already eaten and drank on his own and that I could come get him that afternoon. We were SO HAPPY! He is still with us, and is a wonderful dog. And I can remember EXACTLY how you have been feeling.

Just shared all that to show that there is definitely hope, and that sometimes they do recover really quickly. Sorry to ramble. I am just feeling those feelings all over again, reading through this thread.

Just shared all that to show that there is definitely hope, and that sometimes they do recover really quickly. Sorry to ramble. I am just feeling those feelings all over again, reading through this thread.

I have been hesitant to respond. When I saw the latest picture of your puppy, my thought was that he looked very good. He is definitely faring better than my little pup. I believe there is hope for recovery.

Yesterday, even a bit this morning, it seemed so gloomy. Parvo is a scary word. But she seems fine. I don't think SHE even knows she's sick anymore. She is eating and drinking fine. I'm still giving her the pedialyte and we'll finish out the amoxillian. I think she's gonna be okay though

Oh Pamela, I am so sorry. I have had two dogs have parvo, one back when I was a young girl and parvo was almost a mystery disease, early mid 1970's. That puppy didn't make it. Fast forward another 20 years and I had a deposit on a puppy where the entire litter got parvo, half made it, half didn't.
It was like part of the puppies got mildly sick where as the other half it took down quickly.

I think since your baby is responding well, she should be okay. We can certainly hope for that. I would limit all outside contact (like kids friends playing with her) until after her final vaccinations after 16 weeks. I really feel bad for you, what a roller coaster ride to be on. hang in there!

And to SophtheVet Hugs to you for being so wonderful on our board! You are really special!